SPECIAL FOCUS
SPECIAL FOCUS
CLICKS, CLIPS & CREDIBILITY AND
THE
AT T E N T I O N
IS
MARKETING
TAC T I C S B E H I N D I T A R E
E A R N E D D I F F E R E N T LY N O W,
E V O LV I N G
FA S T.
By Jeanine Nistler
T
hink back, for a moment, to the marketing messages you absorbed as a child. TV commercials for toys and sugary cereal? Radio jingles? Full-page newspaper ads? While print, radio, TV, and billboards are still viable ways to blast out ads, today you can engage with your existing and potential customers via any number of channels. “Consistency beats intensity,” said Rachel Thompson, executive
40
director of Visit Greater St. Cloud. “Many small businesses try to do everything at once — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, email, search engine optimization — and burn out in three months.” Thompson’s advice is to pick two channels where your customers spend time and master them. “Marketing in 2026 isn't about shouting the loudest. It's about being the most helpful, authentic, and consistent voice in your audience’s ear.”
BusinessCentral Magazine.com // M AY/ J U N E 2 0 2 6
PODCASTING ABBEY GRAVES Abbey Graves Productions –––––––
Podcasting is a great way to go deeper with your customers or audience. It lets your ideal customer into your world, builds trust, and forms a sincere connection. Podcasting helps establish you as an authority in your niche, and it is a great tool
for marketing your brand and business. Test the waters by being a guest on another podcast. It is a great way to get a taste for what podcasting entails, and to discover if you like the process of sitting down with a microphone and recording a show. Find a podcast you like and that fits your brand content-wise and pitch yourself as a guest to them. Podcast run time doesn’t really matter unless you are sending it